Fifth grader’s same-sex marriage speech goes viral

A fifth grader whose same-sex marriage speech was banned from a New York public school competition is getting national attention. Last week Kameron Slade, 10, was invited to deliver his powerful words to the New York City Council and video footage of his performance taken by NY1 television is going viral.

Two months ago Kameron wrote a speech on why gays should have the right to marry for a competition at his public school in Queens, N.Y. He was inspired by Barack Obama’s support of gay marriage and wanted to share his views on the issue with his classmates.

But Kameron never delivered his speech in the competition because his school’s principal, Beryl Bailey, decided the topic was inappropriate.

Local media quickly picked up the story, the principal was made to look stupid and the Education Department learned about the incident. Kameron was invited to give his speech at a separate assembly at his school and YouTube footage of it was viewed more than 600,000 times, according to the New York Times.

Now Kameron is reaching an even wider audience. Last week, council speaker, Christine C. Quinn, invited Kameron to share his powerful words with the New York City Council.

Wearing a coat and tie, Kameron read from a paper that he tightly held in his hands and delivered his thoughtful and heartfelt words to a room filled with politicians:

President Barack Obama recently talked about same-sex marriage with his wife and two daughters. Some people are for same-gender marriage, while others are against it. Like President Obama, I believe that all people should have the right to marry whoever they want. Marriage is about love, support and commitment. So who are we to judge?

Many council members were touched. “I’m getting married on Saturday, in three days, to my partner of 13 and a half years,” Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, a Democrat, told the NY Times. “When I saw you on TV, I thought you were the most courageous and wonderful young man I’ve ever seen.”